Microsoft Entra ID
Authentication

Single Sign On Saml Protocol

In brief

The documentation now identifies device-based X.509 authentication with the `x509` AMR value and explains that `x509` alone does not meet phishing-resistant MFA requirements. An additional authentication factor is required.

What Entra admins need to know

Administrators evaluating SAML `amr` claims should account for the `x509` value and its MFA limitation.

This editorial summary was generated by AI from the documentation changes. Verify important details in the full Microsoft Learn article.

Documentation change

The comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.

| Certificate-based authentication (phishing-resistant MFA) | SmartcardPKI when used as MFA; X509 for single-factor CBA | Certificate-based authentication (CBA). | | Temporary Access Pass (TAP) | Unspecified | A Temporary Access Pass. | | Windows Integrated Authentication (Kerberos) | Kerberos | Windows Integrated Authentication. | | Federated IdP (pass-through)Device based X509 authentication | Existing rules applyX509 | The value passes through fromA certificate on the federateddevice proves the device's identity provider. |

authnmethodreferences

| Certificate-based authentication (phishing-resistant MFA) | x509, plus multipleauthn (default for multifactor CBA, or when MFA is completed with another factor for single-factor CBA) | Certificate-based authentication. | | Temporary Access Pass (TAP) | otp, multipleauthn | A Temporary Access Pass. | | Windows Integrated Authentication (Kerberos) | wia | Windows Integrated Authentication. | | Federated IdP (pass-through)Device based X509 authentication | Existing rules applyx509 | The value passes through fromA certificate on the federateddevice proves the device's identity provider. |

Microsoft includes x509 in the amr claim for both single-factor Certificate-Based Authentication (CBA) and device-based X.509 authentication. However, the presence of x509 alone does not qualify as phishing-resistant MFA (PRMFA). To meet PRMFA requirements, the user must also complete an additional MFA factor, which will be reflected by other authentication method indicators in the authentication context.

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Microsoft Entra ID is rolling out more granular AMR values that replace otp for both SAML and OIDC v2.0 tokens: Microsoft Authenticator TOTP sends totp, hardware OATH token sends hotp, SMS sends sms, phone call sends tel, email OTP sends emailotp, and Temporary Access Pass sends tap.

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